Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Acquires 618 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 14.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,933 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Ares Management by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,482,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ares Management by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Ares Management by 67.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ares Management by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,147 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.17.

Ares Management Stock Performance

ARES opened at $161.02 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.01. The company has a market capitalization of $50.41 billion, a PE ratio of 79.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.18. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $125.23 and a 1 year high of $200.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 183.25%.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total transaction of $20,599,471.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,259,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $223,916,778.46. This represents a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total value of $980,502.02. Following the sale, the insider now owns 247,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,633,467.94. The trade was a 2.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 214,571 shares of company stock worth $39,165,379 in the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Ares Management

Ares Management Corporation operates as an alternative asset manager in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company's Tradable Credit Group segment manages various types of investment funds, such as commingled and separately managed accounts for institutional investors, and publicly traded vehicles and sub-advised funds for retail investors in the tradable and non-investment grade corporate credit markets.